The Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan’s Story, Vol. 1 | By Natsu Hyuuga, Itsuki Nanao, and Touco Shino | Square Enix Manga – A spinoff that focuses on one of the least focused-on characters in the main series, Xiaolan is there to be Maomao’s friend and gossip the plot at her until such time as Maomao has other folks to do that, whereupon she is shuffled off screen. But that hasn’t happened yet here! So we see how Xiaolan ended up at the Inner Palace, and how despite her good cheer things are not always great for her and her fellow laundry girls who are not also apothecaries and detectives. It’s also nice to see a lot of the bonkers things that happen in the main plot from the perspective of those who are not only outsiders, but who never really hear what happened at all. Fun stuff, with a bit of darkness within. – Sean Gaffney
Even the Student Council Has Its Holes!, Vol. 1 | By Muchimaro | Ghost Ship – I took a flyer on this as the anime is being released, and I’d heard it was ecchi fun. It’s certainly both. A guy who’s all humanities no math is at risk of not getting into college, so joins the student council. The president’s got sex on the brain, the treasurer is a sadist, the PR officer is a boy who has a feminine appearance he uses to tease other boys, and is lazy as hell, and the general affairs officer is a shortstack who starts the series by getting hit by a truck. The books is filled with sexual humor, but it’s also quite funny—I really enjoy the light music club who clearly don’t play music but use the club as an excuse to be yuri—and the afterword, which discusses how the main characters masturbate. For ecchi lovers. – Sean Gaffney
Half Is More, Vol. 1 | By Yoiko Fujimi | Viz Media – I first heard about this series at Anime NYC, and it sounded really good. As it turns out, it justifies the hype. The cover girl is merely one of the protagonists, as the series follows a group of four young women who are friends and go out drinking, who all share one thing in common: they’re “half,” a derogatory term that means they have one Japanese and one non-Japanese parent. Each of the four stories shows us how this affects their daily living, mostly due to constant microaggressions that by themselves are easily forgivable, but build up until you want to watch them explode. Each of the main cast is compelling, and I liked that none of them have quite the same experience, and are dealing with different things. This is worth a read, absolutely. – Sean Gaffney
I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 5 | By Tamamushi Oku | Yen Press – I am starting to get the feeling this series is going on a bit too long, and I’m pleased to hear it’s actually ending in Japan. As for who Mei will end up with, god knows. If there’s one thing this series does well, it’s obfuscate about who the Best Girl will be. Mei, very clearly likes them all a lot, and also very clearly wants to have sex with all of them, but this is unlikely to go poly, so a choice will need to be made. Frankly, I’m OK with either the model or the roommate, but I do worry that her teacher may be making a last-minute play. But yeah, at this point Mei needs to take stock… though honestly her life is so random and without drive that I’m not sure I’d trust her decision. Perhaps if she works out her life the girl will solve herself. – Sean Gaffney
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 16 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – Every volume I think we have reached the peak of Sakura’s obsession with Nozaki, and every volume I am proved wrong. That said, the funniest parts of this volume may be the ones with Seo and Wakamatsu, where her reputation as the Lorelei has somehow mutated via rumor into her being able to give love advice. Everyone agrees that would be the WORST THING EVER, and so we get to see Wakamatsu attempting to give love advice while Seo silently mimes… only, like the rest of this cast, he thinks in terms of shoujo manga—worse, he thinks in terms of Nozaki’s shoujo manga. As such, his advice… works, sort of, mostly thanks to Seo cutting things off. I do hear we may be reaching an end soon, which is a shame, as this is always going to be hilarious. – Sean Gaffney
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 19 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship – New volume, new girlfriend. Dei Matsuri is one where you might be able to guess some of her gimmick by her name—sure enough, she loves festivals—but her mother’s from England, and she grew up there. Apparently in the East End, as she has a thick Cockney accent, exaggerated for comedic effect, which fits in very well with the rest of the cast. The rest of the volume has various short stories that can be summed up very well by Karane, who says “Stupid things are always happening in this town!” Any drama? The second festival chapter, where Matsuri runs afoul of a god who grants her wish of a never-ending festival in a monkey’s paw way. Rentaro’s expressions here are nightmare-inducing Love it. – Sean Gaffney
Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, Vol. 3 | By Hiroshi Fukuda | Yen Press – I first saw the anime for this, as the manga was picked up after its success. I’m very glad it got an anime, because if I’m being honest, these chapters suffer from not having sound and motion. We get a battle of the bands, and have to watch as our heroines initially struggle and then finally come together and rock out. Theoretically this is all about Tamaki, who gives in and joins their band (and discovers her inner masochist). But in reality, everything in this series is background to Lilisa and Otoha using rock music and anger as sublimations for sex. Their screaming match after the gig basically is sex, with the other band quietly leaving as if they’re watching something they really shouldn’t see. Good stuff. Also watch the anime. – Sean Gaffney
Ruridragon, Vol. 4 | By Masaoki Shindo | Viz Media – Most of this has the athletics festival, where Ruri is running all over creation and also dealing with friends and not-so-friends who still aren’t quite sure how to deal with her, mostly as she’s not quite sure how to deal with herself. She starts being on fire all the time. She covers half the room in ice. Being a metaphor for puberty is tough. The series really excels at teen interaction, though, and Ruri just has to be prickly about it all while still being rather earnest and a good kid. She’s also got some guys who like her, too, though I’m pretty positive romance is not remotely what this series is about. This doesn’t come out too often, but is always worth the wait, one of the best titles Jump is doing right now. – Sean Gaffney
Spy x Family, Vol. 16 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – There’s a lot going on in this volume. Loid psychoanalyzes Melinda Desmond, who thinks her husband is an alien and can read minds… not out of the question given what Anya can do. We get a new semester at Anya’s school, and she’s in a new class with new kids, who are all a different variety of eccentric. And there’s Yor’s ongoing assassin job, which here involves taking out a bunch of poachers in a forest, with the help of one of her colleagues, who is uptight and seems to regard Yor being married, even if it is a fake marriage, as her betraying her profession… so he decides he’s within his rights to kill her. This leads to an excruciating cliffhanger. Is Yor going to confess who she really is?… Probably not, but hey. Great fun. – Sean Gaffney